


DE Artfest day 6: Amnesia

by lastrideoftheday



Category: Detroit Evolution - Fandom, Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: DEArtfest, Detroit Evolution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:22:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25114594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lastrideoftheday/pseuds/lastrideoftheday
Summary: For the sixth prompt of DE Artfest, Amnesia. RK900 remembers nothing, save that its purpose is to obey Dr Seton's instructions.
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	DE Artfest day 6: Amnesia

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't originally going to write anything for this prompt, but yesterday my brain gave me some inspiration right as I was supposed to be going to sleep, so, here it is. Not the most polished, but I hope it's enjoyable anyway!

"I thought I could find some use for you. Seems I was wrong."

“Well, that sounds ominous as hell. Just tell me that you’re gonna kill me, it would be quicker.” The man held captive in the chair looked weary. His retort was flippant, but RK900’s scanners detected his raised heartbeat and body temperature. He was stressed, extremely so. RK900’s gaze tracked the movement of the man’s captor, the one who had said the first statement, who was now stepping away from his workbench and approaching the captive. Its scanners came up with a name. Dr Andrew Seton. No more information, save that RK900’s purpose was to obey his instructions.

There was a gag hanging loose around the captive’s neck and Seton drew it over the captive’s mouth, eliciting an infuriated expression from him. RK900 suspected that the man would have expressed his anger with more than just an expression if there were not now a gag preventing him from speaking. “I’m not going to kill you, Detective,” Seton said, tightening the gag, and the man struggled, his heartbeat, according to the RK900’s scanners, increasing even further. “You’ll be pleased to know I’ve got a much better idea.”

The captive’s eyes flicked over to the RK900, evidently noticing it for the first time. Seton followed his gaze, smiling as his eyes alighted on RK900. “Ah, finally.” His eyes swept it up and down, and then narrowed. With a tone of curiosity, like he was conducting an experiment, he said, "Bring me that box of memory drives from over there.”

The RK900 took a moment to respond to the order, because its gaze had been inexplicably fixed on the captive man. A name had just flashed across the scanner, dredged up from somewhere in its memory banks. And there were other things, too, things that it couldn’t decipher. It probed into its memories, searching for the information that it felt was just within its reach, and frowned as its operating system flashed warnings of software instability across its visual interface in return. It remembered it had been given an order, and turned around, walking towards the box on the other side of the room. It was not necessary to know any more information about the captive. Its mission was to assist Dr Seton, and whatever information its memory drive could offer up about this man called Gavin Reed did not currently hold any relevance.

It returned to Seton, and held the box out. Seton took it and placed it on the workbench, his eyes not leaving the RK900’s face. He stood up straight once more, glancing briefly at the man that the RK900 now knew as Gavin, and he smiled. “The detective," he said, addressing RK900. "I don't have any use for him. Deal with him."

The options presented themselves in RK900’s head, unfolding like a flowchart. It selected what seemed to be a sensible first step and bent down to begin untying the captive, its intention being to take the captive elsewhere so that Seton’s work would not be interrupted. Its gaze met Gavin’s eyes as it did so. And suddenly it stopped, warnings of software instabilities once again flaring up in its brain, almost paralysing it temporarily as new priorities threatened to override its current ones. RK900 ignored these new instructions, not even bothering to see what they were – it already had orders, and those were more important. Nevertheless, its body was frozen for a few seconds while it tried to select the orders that took priority. And Seton noticed this.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m dealing with the captive, Dr Seton.”

“No, just then. What happened? Give me your system status.”

But, as the new instructions continued to crowd into RK900’s brain, it found it didn’t want to. It looked at Gavin once more. And even though only Gavin’s eyes were the only part of his face that were free to move, fear was written into every corner of his expression. And as his eyes met RK900’s, his expression filled with something else, as well, something that RK900 knew it could recognise if it only had access to the memory files just within its reach.

Seton sighed. "Deviancy brings nothing but trouble. I thought I had found a way to reverse the effects, but it’s a strong virus. It leaves flaws in the code that can never truly be repaired." He began approaching RK900, but the android was no longer taking any notice of him. His words had brought on new flares across its brain, software instabilities that it now knew to be memories. Neural pathways opening back up. Feelings – injustice, anger, pity. Nines was staggered, couldn’t process it all - the emotions were coming too quickly and he’d only in the last ten seconds remembered what emotions were. Grey concrete at his feet. Seton in the corner of his eye. With all of his willpower, he brought his gaze upwards, to Gavin’s face. He was met with sunken eyes, dark on a pale face. Resignation. Gavin’s eyes met his, and the expression immediately softened.

Seton was still approaching, sighing as he contemplated his newest broken machine. The one machine that was designed never to break. To be faster, stronger, than its predecessors. Gathering together as much of the emotion as he could, Nines poured it into the only thing he could do. The only thing that mattered.

Locking eyes with Gavin, he winked.

And as the look of surprise was barely beginning to form on Gavin's face, he twisted on the spot and threw Seton to the ground.

"You're under arrest," he said calmly.

Seton didn't respond to this, because he was unconscious. Reaching for the handcuffs Nines now remembered Seton confiscating from him and transferring onto his own person, he cuffed him, hurriedly, because there was a more important matter waiting behind him. The moment he finished, he rushed to Gavin, removing his gag and started on the knots.

"You-" Gavin began as soon as he could breathe properly - "asshole."

Nines laughed, a sob threatening to form in his throat. "An asshole that just saved your life."

"A wink?" Gavin leaned his head back on the chair, and tilted his head towards Nines, who was now working on freeing his legs. "Seriously?"

"I know, it was cheesy," said Nines, having to concentrate hard to prevent his laughter from turning into sobs.

"You bet it was."

"Try trying to think of something less cheesy while you're trying to deal with all your memories returning at once."

Gavin smiled weakly. "I'm offended, tincan. You? Forgetting me?"

"You're right, who could ever truly hope to wipe all their memories of you from their brain?"

Gavin managed a half-laugh and stood up, shaking his feet as he tried to regain some feeling in them. "Seriously, Nines." He looked directly into Nines’s eyes, his expression melting into something more serious. "You'd better not forget me again, all right?"

Nines could feel the tears filling his eyes now, threatening to spill down his cheeks. He gave up, and let them. "How could I ever forget you?"


End file.
